Sunday, June 22, 2008

Fordham Fledglings , A Report From Chris Lyons--Today's Part II

ALL PHOTOS: CHRIS LYONSI couldn't get a photo of all three together, but I got some good shots of all.

One of them flew over to Hughes Hall, and back again, while I was up there.

He (or she) stretched out on the roof with wings outspread, almost like a sunbather.

Both parents were perched up on the lofty spire of Keating Hall, where they could easily keep an eye on their brood.

As has been seen in past years, there is one of the three who is very pale-chested, and almost totally lacking in the famed orangey chest color that Red-tailed eyasses tend to develop for a brief time during the weeks immediately before and after fledging. It would seem to be a matter of genetic variation, as pale-chested eyasses are the norm in some other areas of North America.

I saw Rose up on Dealy today, and one of the young was back on Collins Hall, enjoying a meal just above the pediment where the nest is. Didn't see any of the others. Now that all three fledges are capable of powered flight, sightings will become increasingly rare. The large number of mature leafy trees that make Fordham such a great place for Hawkeye and Rose to raise their young are also what makes it challenging to keep track of the family once it is no longer anchored to one location.

This marks the fifth consecutive year that Hawkeye and Rose have had hatchlings, the fourth consecutive year they have fledged eyasses on the Fordham campus, and the third consecutive year they have fledged three eyasses from the pediment on Collins Hall. Including the two chicks that were removed from their fire escape nest on Creston Avenue and later released upstate, they are now known to have produced 13 healthy young hawks in five years.